A Past Veterans Day Speech

 Dear members and friends of First Christian Church:

 My name is Bret Hobbs and I was asked to write an article about what Veterans Day means to me. I was really taken aback when asked, because though I served in the Navy, I never really have thought of myself as a veteran. You see in my mind a real veteran was someone who served during times of conflict for the United States. You know the ones, those who went ashore during D-Day, who flew the bombing missions over Germany, who survived the jungles of Vietnam. They were the veterans, not me. Not someone who joined the Navy because I needed help getting an education. But I can see that I have been flawed in my thinking. Just because there was no real strife going on, I was still asked to protect the United States. This being the key element all veterans share. All have been asked to protect the United States and defend those who live here.

 So as we approach another Veterans Day I hope that you all will join me in praying for those that are presently serving and to thank God for those that did serve. For you see the privilege you have to pray and to worship are what each and every veteran, past and present, signed up to protect.

     Yours in Christ

     Bret Hobbs

Yellowstone Adventure 2024 - COVID Strikes

 I had my first days off after a week of hard work. I did a short hike on Saturday but did not feel well afterwards. I went back to the dorm for lunch and then laid down to rest. After waking up I felt worse. I also felt I was getting a fever. With very little appetite I went to bed hoping that sleep would be the best medicine. I woke up Sunday feeling worse. I stayed in the room most of the day and took some Tylenol for the fever and aches.  I decided that if I was not well by Monday, the day I had to report back to work, that I would walk to the medical clinic. Monday came and fever still not gone. I headed to the clinic and they gave me the combination flu and covid test. I passed the flu but failed the covid test. My temperature was still up and they were worried that my heart rate was too high. They felt I was dehydrated and they put me on an IV of fluids to try to bring my heart rate down. I laid in the medical clinic for an hour or so until the IV bag was empty and they were happy with my heart rate. They gave me more Tylenol and a note to my boss that I had contracted a bad case of covid. I went to the store wearing a mask and delivered the bad news to the store manager and my boss Ron. I then had to quarantine myself in my room until the fever was gone. They delivered food to my room. It was not a comfortable room to recoup in and I tossed and turned on the bed that basically had no support. My fever broke around Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. I evaluated myself as to my condition and concluded that I did not have any stamina.  After doing very little I would have to stop and rest. The medical clinic said that may last for a couple of weeks. Since I only had a short contract, three weeks to go, I decided that as soon as my fever left that I would pack up and head home. So Thursday morning I packed up and headed home. It was a tough ending to my 2024 adventure but I could not do the job I was required with what covid did to me. As I write this, it has been a week since I left and my stamina still has not gotten back to normal. Coughing is present every day and my ears have been clogged up. I know I made the right decision to leave but I hated to leave Ron and the grocery crew in the lurch. Praying I get over this soon as I don't like not having the energy to do things around the house. 

Yellowstone Adventure 2024 - Week One

    Well I made it a week working at the store.  My schedule right now is Monday through Friday, 8:50AM to 5PM.  With a thirty minute lunch break.  I pretty much knew my way around in grocery, so I did not need much training to get back in the swing of things.  There are a few changes though.  The park is eliminating beverages in plastic.  So mostly all of the vendors have complied with the new regulations and moved to aluminum packaging.  The bright spot of this action is the massive Gatorade we had to have in the store has been eliminated.  Gatorade now only send 10 case of canned Gatorade in two flavors. I for one am very happy as the cases of those large plastic bottle of Gatorade we very heavy to lug around.  We also do not sell any ice tea in the plastic bottles, which I also love as the packaging was a nightmare to breakdown.  We have no plastic bottles of water either.  All water is in cans.  Do the tourists like this change?  Absolutely not, as my private poll has found out.  Do the tourists recycle the aluminum cans properly?  Not even close.  They just dump them in the trash and not the recycling boxes.  I think the park is making a wise move, in that plastic recycling is not happening as fast a aluminum. My opinion only.

   The exciting things that happened this week.  We have been having a heat wave up here at eight thousand feet.  When the temperature rises, so do the incidents of people passing out.  We had two this week.  They just collapsed while waiting in the ice cream line.  We do not have air conditioning anywhere in the store or dorms.  So coming into the building does get you a break from the sun, but does nothing for the heat generated by massive tourists.  Sleeping at night has been ok, as I have a fan I bring and it is on high pointed at me all night.  The second thing that happened was I caught a shoplifter.  I spotted a guy putting items in his backpack.  I reported it to my boss, who then reported it to the ex-police officer that is our store second in command.  They got the guy before he ran with the goods.  The guy worked for Xanterra, the company that runs the hotels here.  He was reported to their HR and I hope sent packing.  We have a big problem with Xanterra employees stealing from our store.  The third and most exciting thing that happened this week was that we made the national evening news.  A geyser pool in the Biscuit Basin, two miles from my store, blew its top.  The debris scattered over a large area and the explosion took out several feet of board walk.  People were seen running and screaming to get away from the explosion.  The video look pretty cool.  The place is now closed off from tourists and it will be awhile before the area is fixed and back for people to walk around.  As for our area, I did not feel or hear the explosion, but I think some who were laying down in the dorm did.

NBC News Report

  That is about all for the week.  My legs, knees, and back are very tired.  I will be resting up this weekend and I hope to be able to work better next week.  Averaging 17,000 steps a day in the store and I don't know how many pounds I have lifted this week.  My back says about three tons.

   Take care and thanks for reading.

Yellowstone Adventure 2024 - Heading out

   I have a 33 day contract to fulfill for Delaware North.  I leave tomorrow the 19th and have to report for duty at the grocery store at Old Faithful on the 22nd.  I am looking forward to the drive and putting the new Tacoma through its paces on the highway.  I will miss my wife and the family while I am gone, but I also am looking forward to spending some time in the mountains.  From what I hear the store has really been swamped and from what my friend Jack says, they are looking forward to having me come and help.  The contract is for 33 days, but I also feel that they will ask me to extend.  I will have to think about that as I want to drive to see Death Valley when my contract is over.  Cathy shows no interest in seeing Death Valley and it may be a great time for me to see the area and the old ghost towns that surround it.  I hope to keep the blog going while I am working but that all depends on the internet connection that I have.  Pray for my travels and pray I can reach someone for Christ while I am there.

A Special Trip

    Several months ago I approached my oldest grandson's parents to get permission to take them on a trip out west.  I told them that I would leave the day after school is let out for the summer and we would head to Yellowstone, with many stops in between.  They said it would be a great idea and on May 22nd we set out in the family van.  It would just be us three, as the other grand kids are not old enough to enjoy a trip like the one I had planned.  

  I don't know who had the best time, as I think I had just as much fun showing them the sights my Dad showed me many years ago.  The first day they got to see the Mississippi River, which they have never been over before.  Then I introduced them to the worlds largest truck stop on I80 in Iowa. The second day was the special day as I told them once we reached South Dakota that they would officially be in the west.  I showed them the Corn Palace in Mitchell and introduced them to the statue Dignity that over looks the Missouri River.  We stopped by the 1880's town for a look at an old west setup.  Then we reached Wall and I introduced them to the people I worked with at Wall Drug.  They liked the place and all the items that they sold.  The next day we woke up early and hiked around the Bad Lands. The kids got introduced to prairie dogs, which they loved.  The next stop was Rapid City and the got to walk around Mount Rushmore and Deadwood and Lead.  We also visited a drive through bear park, that ensured they would then see some bears on this trip.  After a couple days in Rapid City we made our way to Cody Wyoming over the Bighorn Mountains. The kids got to see their first ever moose as we made our way to Cody Wyoming.  In Cody they enjoyed the Buffalo Bill Cody museum and the dam.  We also go to see the Irma hotel and walk around the Old Trail Town.  From Cody we headed into Yellowstone and to our hotel in West Yellowstone.  Entering Yellowstone they got to see their first every Bighorn sheep and their first every bison, black bear, and grisly bear.  I took them to the store where I worked and introduced them to the people I work with.  They also got to see the Grand geyser go off and to explore the grand canyon of Yellowstone.  I also to them to see Johnny Sack's cabin on Big Spring and to Mesa Falls.  After all these places we headed home via I90 and I showed them where the battle of little Bighorn was at.  Then it was a long trip home.  

   My hopes on this trip was that they would one day venture west and remember the places their Pappy showed them and I also pray that they will have lasting memories of our time together and the laughs we had.